Texas Football: Position-by-position grades for the 2023 class post-NSD
Tight end
# of signees: 2
Tight end is a tough position to evaluate right now. Banks and the Longhorns still have the elite five-star Pinnacle (AZ) tight end Duce Robinson on the board, as he’s looking to make a final decision on the traditional National Signing Day in February 2023.
Although, it did hurt that Texas missed out on the fast-rising four-star Fort Worth North Crowley tight end Ka’Morreun Pimpton to the LSU Tigers. Pimpton wound up flipping his commitment from the Vanderbilt Commodores to LSU on NSD1.
Spencer Shannon, 3-Star TE (Mater Dei, California)
Of the two tight end signees in the Longhorns 2023 class, the one with the highest upside is the towering 6-foot-7 Mater Dei (CA) product Spencer Shannon. The long-term projection for Shannon will be as a flex tight end given his large frame and already-polished blocking ability.
Shannon does have good hands and quick feet for a tight end of his size and stature. That will allow him to project as an impact receiving tight end a few years down the line.
Will Randle, 3-Star TE (Isidore Newman, Louisiana)
The teammate of the highest-rated recruit in the nation for the 2023 cycle, three-star Isidore Newman tight end Will Randle, unfortunately, will be working his way back from a season-ending lower-body injury in 2023. The good news for Randle is that he is already comfortable with the future Texas quarterback and face of the program.
Randle is a quality blocker and can flex out to become a receiving target in the flats. That’s where he thrived in Newman’s offense (which modeled a lot of the concepts that Sark uses in his offense) in the last couple of seasons prior to the injury.